E-commerce is defined as “the sale or purchase of goods or services, conducted over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing of orders”. Over recent years this has become a quickly growing area for business transactions.

This all-day event, coordinated jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), will feature a range of talks from users, producers and suppliers of business statistics, not just from central government but also from international organisations and business representatives. The day will include engaging discussions about how e-commerce is changing the shape of business within the UK and internationally, highlighting current trends, and how we are measuring these changes. In addition, future business statistic requirements and priorities will be captured via interactive sessions.

The event will be opened by John Pullinger, UK National Statistician, Head of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority. Other prominent speakers include Emma Jones from Enterprise Nation, Will Page from Spotify, and James Roper from Interactive Media in Retail Group.

This is the fourth event following the success of previous business statistics user events, the most recent being The Changing Shape of UK Manufacturing in 2014. The objectives of this e-commerce event are to: · share what we know about e-commerce by UK businesses · raise awareness of the importance and coverage of these statistics · hear from users about the range of uses to which our statistics are put · discuss future plans and priorities with a range of users · discuss the potential future of e-commerce

The event is free of charge, but please note that numbers will be limited and places are filling up fast. If you would like to attend the event please follow the link below and fill in a registration form: BusinessStatisticsUserConference@bis.gov.uk.For updates and announcements, join the conversation on Twitter #UKecomstats